


Celebrations

by faespresso



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Day of the Dead, Grief/Mourning, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 03:06:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11682735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faespresso/pseuds/faespresso
Summary: Some days are sweet. Some are truly bitter.Then, those are the days when they are both.Oscar Pine doesn’t care much for those days.





	Celebrations

**Author's Note:**

> Oscar is Qrow and Ozpin’s adopted son.
> 
> Ozpin is nonbinary and uses he/him pronouns.
> 
> Ozpin and Oscar are both Latino.

The second of November was a very special day for Oscar Pine. It was his birthday, and he couldn’t wait to see the dinner that his guardians had prepared! Ozpin would have the best cake for him, a rich chocolate with a spicy frosting. Qrow would have made a stir fry for them, a recipe from his brother-in-law.

He could taste it already, and he felt his legs start to bounce out of excitement. Even the hefty backpack tossed over his shoulders with his textbooks didn’t bother him one bit! It would be a breeze, especially since he worked on most of it in school today. But still, something nagged at him as he tried to read the short story for school. He was forgetting something important, something that shouldn’t be forgotten.

But that was out of his mind as soon as a knock at the door revealed that his guardian was home, and he flew down the stairs to greet him. 

“Happy Birthday, Oscar.” He smiled, balancing a basket under his arm and a cane in his other hand. “How was school today?”

“It was great! We had a substitute in math today, so I finished all my homework for tonight in class. But I didn’t get English done.”

“That’s alright. Maybe we’ll take a look at it after dinner.” He hummed. 

“Yes, please! I can’t analyze stories as well as you can.”

“Oz, could you come here?” His father called out.

“Of course.” He walked to the kitchen, not bothering to set down the basket under his arms. “Good evening.” He hummed, and moved in to give a kiss to his husband on his cheek. However Qrow had other plans, and tilted his head to make his guardian kiss his father full on the lips. 

They both laughed, and the anxiety in his chest dissolved. Oscar had no idea why he was so worried about today. 

“Dinner will be ready soon, Oz. Will you help me set the table?”

“Of course. Give me a moment.” He handed his cane to his son, who set it in the corner between the kitchen entry and the atrium. He moved behind his husband to the dining room, and returned basketless. 

“What was that basket for, Oz?” 

“Just some bread from the neighbors.”

“Oh, that’s nice of them.” But he didn’t find it nice at all, Oscar could tell from the edge in his voice. The sinking feeling returned in his chest. 

“Oscar, could you retrieve the cake from the fridge? I need to frost it.” His guardian requested, and he perked up and nodded eagerly. He opened the fridge to reveal the chocolate cake with the thin layer of frosting, and set it out on the other side of the kitchen, right by the dining room’s own entry way. 

“What peppers did you use this time?”

“Jalapeño. Might as well keep it simple.” 

“With cream cheese?”

“Of course.” He assured his son, who smiled. “Now, bring down your homework so we can work on it right after dinner.” 

“I’ll be right back!” True to his word, he practically flew up the stairs and into his room. He bundled up the textbook and his notebook in his arms and set his pencil in his mouth. It was a very difficult walk down, but he managed it. As if he were expecting this, Qrow appeared at the foot of the stairs, and held his arms out for the books. “Everything’s on the table, kid. Just waiting on Oz.”

He nodded, and walked to the table. It smelled amazing, the chicken and rice were all piled on plates on the table, the bread basket was covered with a hand towel, and steaming mugs filled with champurrado were next to the plates. There was an empty place amongst the food, and he knew that they were waiting on the cake. As he sat down, his guardian came through, the cake in his hands with the bright white frosting covering it.

“Before we dig in… I… do have a request, and I hate to ask it.” His guardian sighed, glancing anxiously at the head of the table where Oscar sat as he set the cake down. “May we remove that, please? Or at least cover it up?”

He turned to the mirror behind his seat to reveal the fact that Ozpin was not flesh anymore-- he had an eerie glow, and his amber eyes were the only light in his empty sockets. His skin was long gone to reveal the bones underneath, and they looked to be coated in a fine sugar. The worst of it all was his face, it was pretty with ornate designs but it wasn’t the face of his guardian.

He had to make this request every year.

His voice mostly gave out on the young boy as he tried to respond. Instead, he nodded,and his guardian smiled a somber smile towards him as he made his way into the kitchen. The boy rummaged through the kitchen and found an old tablecloth to cover it up, one that was a deep, vivid green.

Qrow’s whole demeanor had changed, with his hands shaking as he half-heartedly dug into the stir fry. He kept his ruby eyes cast downward, and his spouse reached out to pat his back as he nibbled on one of the rolls of sweet bread from their neighbors. 

If Oscar could just pretend that the bread didn’t have the bearings of pan de muertos, then it would seem that his guardian was very much alive, just for tonight.

Then he’d be gone again. Even if he assured the two of them he was always looking out for them in the afterlife, it just wasn’t as good as having him with them, flesh and bone. 

The dinner tasted like cardboard, and so did the cake. The flavor of the cake would return tomorrow, but with a significantly bitter taste.

Oscar thinks that’s the worst flavor of all.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feedback as appreciated, even if it is just cursing me out for this story.


End file.
